Dimension Wave Chapter 19

“What a world of difference it is on a sailboat!”

It’s been great since we’ve set sail.
Not only is it better than a rowboat, it’s also a lot easier cutting across the water.
That’s what they invented sails for.
Sheryl might’ve even taken the Helmsmanship skill.
With her on the helm, we get to enjoy the ocean. It’s almost as if we’re on a vacation or something.

“The good weather sure lends itself to the experience. I never knew it would be so wonderful at sea.”

It really depends on the weather, but it’s nice out today.
I’m not sure how the in-game engine works but seeing how there are overcast and rainy days too, we got real lucky.
I’m glad that Shouko’s enjoying it. We stepped off on the right foot.

“Do ya know where the monsters are, Sheryl?”

I’ve explored a bit already, but I can’t exactly pinpoint where things are yet though.
But I remember where to catch tuna. What else do I need, right?

“Yep. I’ll start with the easy ones.”

She calls out while adjusting the sails. It must be tough handling all that.
With a rowboat, you need someone to paddle. With a sailboat, you need someone on the helm.

“In that case, I’ll be fishing to earn us some money. I’ll leave the monsters to you two.”
“Understood.”
“Aye, milady.”

If there’s a lot of them at once, then I’ll go help. But if there’s only one or two enemies, then the two of them should be more than enough.
Though I’d have to say I’m not feeling so hot about our pseudo-ninja and her goofy hand gestures…
But since there aren’t many people who have boats, tuna and seabream can make us a lot of money.
It’ll be a good opportunity to recover the cost of building this sailboat.

From the excess materials, Sheryl also made a Rod of Humanoid Timber.
Obviously, it’s crafted from Treant’s Wood but from the quality pile, giving it a +1 and making the rod even better.
I take it out of my inventory and cast my line.
It’s been a good minute since last I’ve fished. I’ve been more involved in combat and business negotiations as of late. The feeling of deep sea fishing while the boat glides through the water is really something else.

“How is the bite?”
“Oh, y’know. Sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t.”

Well, to be honest, I get more bites than I would in real life.
And if you couldn’t guess, that’s one of our guards, Shouko, who’s speaking to me.

“It really is as you and Sheryl have said. There is a lot of water out here.”
“That’s why they call it the sea.”
“Yes, but no, I was not doubting you. I was thinking how there seems to be more and more ocean, almost as if it were endless.”
“… yeah, you’re right.”

I can’t help but agree with Shouko who is staring out at the horizon.
How far does the water go on for?
It’s just a little disconcerting.
I’m sure the farther we go, the stronger the monsters get as well.
In RPGs of yore, getting on a boat means getting freedom. But take the wrong turn and you end up fighting fiendish monsters who will wipe out your whole party. I’m… fairly sure we won’t run into anything like that. We can always retreat.
I could even do it on the rowboat. With Sheryl at the helm of our sailboat, we should have the upper hand.

“… enemy sighted. To battle positions.”

Sheryl suddenly interrupts with alarming news.
I hold my fishing rod in one hand as I scan my surroundings. From the northeast quickly drawing near is the dark shadow of a Killerwing—a monster that I’ve faced before.

“‘tis mine time to shine!”

Yamikage shouts out loud with a smug look on her face. I’m fairly confident in her, but I worry how easily she gets carried away.

“On my way! Recharge…”

With a fan in her hand, Shouko steps up to stand off against the Killerwing, doing so with the vigor of G.o.ds and demons.
Shouko stands as vanguard and Yamikage in the rear. A single hawk should be no match for the two of them. I’ll just stand keep an eye on them so that I don’t get hit.
Meanwhile, the Killerwing flies closer and closer. Shouko points her fan at it and Yamikage begins chanting Drain.

“—!”

In a flash, Shouko dodges the Killerwing’s attack while striking with her folding fan.
Shouko is as graceful as usual, but… something seems odd.
Her strike with the fan proved successful, forcing the Killerwing out of formation. The beast still flies strong and circles in for another attack but only to take on Yamikage’s prepared Drain spell.
However, the momentum from her fan strike propelled Shouko to the edge of the boat—

“You’re gonna fall!”

As Shouko follows through her swing, I grab her nondominant hand at the last second.
The worried look on her face turns to one of relief.
… man, am I cool or what?
No, stay focused, Kizuna.

“You alright?”
“Uh, yes!”

We were dazed for a moment but Shouko quickly responds and gets back on her feet.

“What happened?”
“Nothing, just footing…”

Footing?
Oh, right. The rock of a boat is nothing like solid ground.
I guess I wasn’t affected because I took Naval Combat. Now it makes sense to me as to why Shouko wasn’t at her max potential.

—splash!

That’s the sound of something large fell into the ocean.
Following that was the sound of bubbles coming from the water. I whip around and scan the deck.
Yamikage’s gone!

“…Yami fell in.”

Sheryl’s rational words stresses me out even more.
Our fighting members have all been wiped out.

“… I’ll go save her. You two take care of the enemy.”
“Gotcha!”

After hollering my response at her, Sheryl dives into the sea.
I remember her saying something about swimming a lot before she built boats.
She probably has a skill or something, right?
More importantly right now is the Killerwing though.

“Fighting on water is noticeably different than on land, so I’ll back you up until you’ve got the hang of it.”
“Understood.”
“I’ll make sure you don’t fall in too.”

I take out my Iron Boning Knife. It makes sense since Killerwings are birds. It’s just like deboning a chicken.
And plus, it’s not like as if it’s a strong monster either.
If we get stuck here, then there’s no hope in crossing the ocean for us.

“Whoa!”

I sidestep to dodge the Killerwing’s attack.
The open deck makes for easy evasion, unlike before.

“Now!”
“Wild Dance, the First: Chain Strike!”

Shouko has already finished charging up and activates her attack skill, striking the side of the Killerwing’s torso. I took this opportunity to attack it as well.
Since it’s not a strong monster in the first place, the Killerwing falls to the combination of my weapon’s affinity, Shouko’s equipment and prowess, and the damage received from before.

“Still…”
“Unfortunately, it is a net loss…”

Because we’re in a party, the 300 experience we got from the bird was equally split between the four of us. Even with the party bonus, we’d still be losing Energy if we use our skills at all.
Not to mention, Yamikage must’ve taken some damage falling into the water.

“Looks like we’ve got to do some planning…”

And now for the epilogue: I found out that I got a bite while I was busy fighting.
It was a herring.

: // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // // /ch019/ /next/